Automatic relief-valve.



T. ODEE.

AUTOMATIC RELIEF VALVE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. 1914.

1 l 8 1 ,475 Patented May 2, 1916.

Z/ n f i m5 COLUMBIA PLANnuRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

THORMOD open, or ALBERT LEA, MINNESOTA.

AUTOMATIC BELIEF-VALVE.

V Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Application filed June 24, 1914. Serial No. 846,918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THORMOD zen of the United States, residing at Albert Lea, in the county of Freeborn and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Relief- Valves, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of internal combustion engines and aims to provide means for automatically relieving the pressure of the water in the cooling system of the engine so that bursting of any portion of the cooling system by the expansion of freezing water will be prevented.

As is well known, a body of liquid in a container freezes fromthe exterior of the body inwardly, that is to say, the portion of the liquid adjacent to the walls of the container freezes first and the portion of the liquid at the center of the body is the last to freeze.

It is one of the important objects of my invention to provide means which will automatically permit the escape of some of the liquid from the central port-ion of the body of liquid as the liquid expands.

My invention further refers to the details of construction and the advantages of the automatic relief valve to be fully set forth in the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a fragmental sectional view of an internal-combustion engine of the character shown in my prior Patent No. 9%,542, issued July 19, 1910. In this view the automatic relief valve is shown in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of said valve. Fig. 3 is an end view looking from the right-hand end of Fig. 2.

The engine shown in the drawings com prises a base 5 having therein a water cham her 6 which communicates with the water jacket that surrounds the cylinder 7. A hopper 8 communicates with said water jacket and has an open upper end through which the cooling fluid is introduced.

At its lower portion the wall of the cham ber 6 has an opening in which is threaded a tube 9 constituting the casing of the relief valve. At the inner end of this tube is an annular shoulder 10 constituting a valveseat against which a valve member 11 is adapted to be pressed. The stem 12 of said valve member is slidably mounted in a bearing 13 at the center of a cap 14: which,

Onnn, a citij closes the outer end of the tube 9. Said cap has asuitable number of openlngs 15 therethrough. A coiled spring 16 surrounding the valve stem 12 and the bearing 13 tends to hold the valve member 11 against its seat 10.

On the outer side of the end-cap 14: is a boss 17 having a groove 17 therein adapted to receive a transverse pin 18 fixed in the valve'stem 12. The end of the valve-stem may be bent to form a finger piece or crank 19. hen the pin 18 is seated in the groove 17 the valve member 11 is permitted to contact its seat 10. By pulling the valve stem outwardly and turning the stem, so as to remove the pin 18 from its groove and cause it to bear against the outer face of the boss 17, the valve member 11 may be held unseated so as to permit the water to drain out of the chamber 6.

If the water in the chamber 6 is not drained out when the engine is idle for a considerable length of time in cold weather, as for example over night, the water will freeze and unless means were provided to prevent, the expansion of the water in freezing might cause breakage of the walls of the water-containing chamber. By reason of the fact that the tube or valve casing 9 projects inwardly from the wall of the chamber a considerable distance, the inner end of the tube lies at or near the mid-portion of the body of water which will be the last to freeze. As the water expands, the valve member 11 is unseated against the action of the spring 16 and a portion of the water flows out through the tube 9 and drains through the openings 15. Thus the pressure in the chamber will be relieved so that no injury will be caused to the engine if the remainder of the water freezes solidly in the chamber. Obviously if the inner end of the tube 9 were flush with the wall of the chamber or substantially so, the first sheet of ice formed along the wall of the chamber would close the end of the tube so as to render the relief valve entirely ineffectual.

I do not limit myself to the details of construction of the relief valve, for it is obvious that these might be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

The combination of a container, a tube supported in an inclined position in the wall of the container and projecting into the container, a valve-seat at the upper inner end of the tube, a valve member positioned in the tube a spring tending to press the valve inwardly against the valve-seat, a stem for the valve member, a cap at the opposite end of the tube having a bearing for said valve stem, said cap having near its periphery an outlet for Water, and an operating handle on the outer end of the valve stem, said tube 10 permitting the unobstructed flow of Water Within the tube and through said outlet;

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

THORMOD ODEE. In the presence of- LUDWIG KEMPER, HAROLD 'AYAns.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

